A Matter of Size (2009)

The Israeli-Hebrew comedy smash “A Matter of Size” borrows, steals and mimeographs from the “The Full Monty” to tell the story of obese chef Herzl (Itzik Cohen) and his bid to become a sumo wrestler and woo the plus-size girl of his dreams. First up is the instant punch line: Scottish blue collars dancing in “Monty,” sumo wrestling in the Holy Land here. There’s the awkward scene where manly guys shove and grip each other while nearly naked. There’s the gay toughie. There’s the guy with the bad marriage, etc. Even the rom-com are verbatim. Yet, “Size” wins on the merit of its charismatic leads and the cool factor that –- get this Hollywood -– overweight people can be happy, fall in love and have sex. The latter scenes are treated with a loving humor and are undeniably sweet. It’s not just girth here that’s large. B